“THE MOTHER: Years and years I loved you, O, my son, my firstborn, when you lay in my womb” (Joyce 474).
Oh, the womb. So many potential things to be drawn from such a symbol – meanings, lives, placentas, the possibilities are endless! “Womb of sin”, Stephen called it, back in Proteus (Joyce 32).
To give some context for first time readers: because of the psychedelic nature of hallucinating fantasies and nightmares in the Circe chapter of Ulysses, it’s good to know that Stephen’s mother here is not actually present nor “speaking”, in the sense that her words are not a manifestation of her own thoughts, but that she is a creation of Stephen’s imagination.
Now, why is his mother, who birthed him through her womb being imagined by a young man while he’s in the middle of whore house? Great question. Well, firstly, it’s important to recognize that Stephen at this point in the chapter is intoxicated in more ways than one. He’s drunk – but he’s also under the intoxication of women, feeling good about his plentiful surroundings of sexuality. But ultimately, these two intoxications may bring about a certain guilt and a grounding back to reality, especially after having just danced and lived out his dreams of being a confident, smooth talking man.
There seems to be a distinct connection between Stephen’s feelings towards his mother, and how he treated her, and him needing to be grounded.
His narrative constantly travels between fantasy, which involves pleasure, which then creates a guilt, which then leads to deep imagination of nightmares that are the core of that guilt (i.e. his mother). She will forever be his punishment.
Fiona Bardhoshi